Christmas Brings Visitors
by Dreamsinlilac
Summary: In the build up to Christmas the Drill house is full of excitement. It's also full of pranks and surprises, the question is, where are they all coming from? The answer is of course, magic. (TWW 1998, suitable for all) Part of the "A Life Series, set during 'A Year In The Life."
1. The Assignment

**A/N: And here we have the annual Drill Christmas tale, a slightly different one this time that will be spread across five (relatively) short chapters. It also links back to a "It's a Wonderful Drill Life" from two years ago.**

 **Massive thank you to cakeeatingwingedcat for the idea, I hope I've done it justice.**

"I know I don't need to tell you how important this assignment is."

"No boss."

"And I expect you to help each other, especially Lura, this is their first assignment after all."

"Yes boss."

"Right so, any questions before you leave?"

"Just one, what about the older humans? Same as before?"

"Exactly the same as before. Have your fun but don't make things too difficult. This should be a special time for them as well.

"Will they ever come? Here I mean, like you asked her to?"

"Timing my friends, just like we discussed. I met her again at the right time and she will bring her girls to our home when it's appropriate for them."

"Promise?"

"I promise." Nicholas smiled at his four best Elves. "Now, off you go and I'll see you in a few weeks."

As he watched them check their supplies one last time before waving goodbye, he thought about the woman he had met again two years previously. He also thought about his old friends who had not lived to see their daughter and granddaughter blossom and overcome so much, had not met the family she lived for but who would have been so proud of her.

Now that little girl he had first met all those years ago was his friend. Their communication over the past few years may have been irregular, a somewhat unfortunate impact of his lifestyle, but their letter exchanges meant so much to him. He smiled, recalling some of the many questions he had been asked in those letters, questions he could not always answer. Even without being there to see the reaction he knew what his evasiveness would cause, had seen the same frustration in her mother and grandmother over the years. And somehow he had a feeling he would see the same frustration in a certain little girl who, just like the women who had come before her, was born with a thirst for answers and a distaste for ambiguity.

Nicholas was an old man, exactly how old even he wasn't sure anymore, in the role he had been assigned in life age didn't matter very much. But with age came experience and certainty and as a result, he knew one thing. "They have plenty of time to learn and to explore. And like I told those little mischief makers of mine, time to make plenty of visits to our home when they can really enjoy it."

While Nicholas took advantage of the calm and lost himself in his reflections, his workers had arrived at their destination and getting settled in their secret home. It wasn't difficult to stay out of sight, Elves were extremely small after all, with the ability to make themselves even more minute when necessary.

"Come on." Fifo, the leader of the group led the way from their first hiding place in the castle grounds. For a small creature, they moved quickly and the other Elves had to hurry themselves to keep up with them.

"I'm so excited.", Lura, the newest member of the group whispered as they came to a stop. "My very own human."

"You're more than ready.", Trian, who considered themselves a well-tenured Elf, answered with a smile. "Just remember what Nicholas said and don't be afraid to ask for help."

Before Lura could answer they were interrupted by a squeak from Edra, the most excitable member of their team. "I can see them."

Together they peered through the crack at the four girls who Nicholas had asked them to take charge of. For Fifo, Trian and Edra, this was a familiar ritual, however, they still marvelled at how much the girls had grown and admired the new addition to the group.

"What do you think?", Fifo asked Lura.

"I think she's as cute as a button.", the young Elf sighed happily.

Edra looked at their own clothing before rolling their eyes. "How can a button be cute? It's purely functional. She is very pretty though. Look, there's my one, the blonde girl. I like her, she's feisty."

"A bit like you.", Trian observed. "That's my girl there, wearing the pink jumper. She's so sweet and cuddly, clever too."

"My girl is very clever as well.", Edra added quickly.

"There's my charge." Fifo chose to ignore the inevitable squabbling and focus on their girl. "She's, well she's just lovely. Creative, spirited, smart and very loving and kind too ."

There was a sudden silence from the other three Elves and a question that remained unspoken for a long moment.

Eventually, Trian picked up the courage to ask, "How much longer?"

They all knew that Fifo had been tasked with a rare case. It wasn't just that Abby didn't have powers, she was older, and as a result, the other Elves assumed there would be a limit on the time she could remain Fifo's charge.

"Always.", Fifo beamed. "Nicholas said the normal rules don't apply here. These girls will remain our charges. And in the future, when they have families of their own, we'll look after them too. Provided we keep doing a good job of course."

"We will.", their companions promised faithfully, thrilled that they too would get a chance to remain with these humans for a lifetime.

With that discussion out of the way, it was time to get to work. While their role wasn't ever to spy, there was a certain element of observation that they had to do in order to carry out their jobs. There were rules though and Fifo was anxious that they stuck to them.

"Use your Elf-sense and be careful of private moments. Remember what happened last year Edra?"

Edra blushed, they believed it was called kissing. And though the big humans seemed to be having a lot of fun doing it, they didn't need to see it again. "Yes Fifo."

"Good, and remember, we cause mischief, not trouble."

"We can leave treats too can't we?" Trian hoped they hadn't missed any updates to the rules. Mischief was great but leaving treats was the best.

"Of course. Right, let's go back to our sleeping spot for now. We need to get some rest so we can start working properly tomorrow."

The Elves were reluctant but knew Fifo was right. They took one final look before starting to follow their leader back to their temporary home.

"Eeek." Lura jumped as the large creature loomed in front of them. They had never seen such a thing,

"Calm down young one." Fifo tapped their companions arm kindly. "This is our friend. Hello Morgana."

Constance's familiar regarded the four creatures before letting out a soft miaow.

"It's good to see you too and we're very well thank you." It was Trian who responded. "We're looking forward to spending time with you and your family, we had fun last year didn't we?"

It seemed from her purr that Morgana agreed, as did Pixie and Minnie who were close behind her.

"Yes, we'll be here for a few weeks.", Fifo promised. "Plenty of time for fun. Well, the girls will be looking for you so we'd better go. See you tomorrow, come on Elves, it's time to hit the hay."

Fifo and their crew had only just turned the corner when the door opened.

"We were wondering where you were." Abby crouched down so she could give each of their pets a gentle scratch, noticing as she did how excited they were. "We were just talking about Christmas. If I didn't know any better I'd say you were doing the same. Anyway, let's get you fed will we?"

"I wanna help.", Zara shouted.

"We can all help.", Abby sighed. "Well, except Fleur but you can watch can't you?"

"Ahh ahh." Fleur giggled as she was picked up by her eldest sister and carried downstairs to the living area. On the way, she glimpsed something that caught her attention. "Oh.", she gasped.

"What are you so excited about?" Abby asked before giving the baby a kiss. "Are you getting ready for Christmas like we are? I told you, you're going to love it."

"Eeeee." Fleur forgot about what had distracted her and instead watched with glee as Pixie, impatient as always, ran around waiting to be fed.

Meanwhile, someone outside was equally excited. "She smiled at us, did you see?"

"We did young one." Fifo smiled at Lura. "Got good eyes that one. Luckily she's too young to say what she saw, but let's not take any more chances for tonight. Don't worry though, we'll be back tomorrow, I promise."


	2. Let The Games Begin

**A/N Time for the Elves to get to work.**

It was dark but that didn't mean it was still night time. Zara knew this because her Mummy had explained to her that in Winter the sun stayed asleep for longer and maybe, just maybe, she might want to do the same.

Zara didn't need any more sleep, not when there were so many other things she could be doing before going to nursery. She could be playing with the kittens, or with Fleur. Or maybe even doing some of the dances she had learned in her class the other day. Or, as her growling tummy was hinting at, she could be eating some of the yummy nutty porridge Mama made when it was cold.

Deciding to eat first and dance and play later she threw off the covers, grabbed her Simba and Nala and hopped out of bed. At least she tried to but she was blocked by something unusual.

"Teddies?"

The toys weren't unfamiliar. In fact, she was well acquainted with them, mainly because they belonged to her sister. There was Bobo, Panda, Tilly and many others who all lived in the same place. And as Zara's eyes adjusted to the dim light, she realised where she was.

"Ava's room. Huh?"

It wasn't that she never spent the night with her sister, though it was mainly at the weekend, not during the week when they lived at the castle. No, what was strange was that Zara remembered getting into her own bed with Simba and Nala the night before. She remembered her Mama reading her a story and her Mummy coming in at the end to kiss her goodnight. She did not remember getting up and going into her sister's bedroom and even if she did…..

"Where's Ava?"

Deciding the only thing to do was look for her, Zara climbed over the soft toy mountain and made her way out to the hallway.

"Good morning little one. Is Ava awake?" Constance, who had gone downstairs early to set up for her first class, smiled at her daughter.

"Mama, I woke up in Ava's bed." Zara spread her hands wide indicating her confusion. "But no Ava."

Before Constance could answer, she was interrupted by the door to Zara's room opening and Ava, complete with bedhead and clutching her favourite doll, bursting out.

"I woke up in Zara's bed."

Constance sighed, pranks and high jinks seemed to be a regular occurrence these days. "We've talked about this before, haven't we? When you have school you need to get plenty of sleep so it's important that you stay in your own beds."

"But Mama." Ava was hopping up and down to get her point across. "I did go into my own bed last night and I didn't move."

As she guided them both into the living area, Constance shook her head. "It's too early for games."

"We're not playing games Mama.", Ava insisted. She repeated the same claim shortly afterwards as Abby and their Mummy heard the tale.

"Good try crazies." , Abby laughed loudly. "Your prank attempts are getting even better."

" _We_ didn't prank, Absy." Zara was standing her ground. "Someone pranked _us_."

Which was exactly what Ava was thinking. "You're right.", she whispered to Zara before leaving for school. "I think it was Mama. She used magic to play a trick on us and she waited outside to see her joke happen."

"Ahhhhh." Zara looked across the room to where their mother was obliviously checking their school bags. "I think she did too."

"Don't tell her we know." Ava thought it was better Mama thought she'd gotten away with it. "We're very smart to have figured this out aren't we?"

"Yeah." Zara gave Ava a high five. People did always say they were very clever and she trotted off to Nursery with her Grandad feeling very smug that they had outsmarted their Mama.

The two sisters weren't the only ones feeling happy with themselves.

"That was so funny.", Trian gasped. "Ava's face when she realised she wasn't in her own bed was priceless."

"I know, I know." Edra wiped the tears of mirth from their eyes. "It was even better than I'd hoped it would be."

As their two companions congratulated themselves on a job well done, Lura was feeling a bit left out of things. "Fifo said I can't do any tricks. What am I meant to do?"

"Well no." Trian eventually calmed down enough to respond. "Fleur's too small to trick."

"She looks big to me.", Lura sighed.

"She's human small." Edra pointed out. "But unlike us, she'll get bigger and you can trick her then. For now, you can just have a bit of fun with her, especially because she can't tell anyone about you."

That was something Lura hadn't considered and it gave them an idea of what they could do with their new friend.

"Well kitten, at least I know you won't be following your sisters' leads and moving beds in your sleep. You settle down and have a nice nap while I work on Mama's book for Christmas." Imogen gave the nine-month-old a gentle kiss before tiptoeing out of the room. She was sure that in the years to come Fleur would be as much a part of the memory book creation process as her older sisters, but for now, she was playing her part by sleeping while the finishing touches were being made to this volume.

A little over an hour later Imogen was satisfied with the additions she had made to the girls' work and was enjoying a perfect cup of coffee when she heard a noise from the baby monitor. She didn't get up straight away, Fleur wasn't crying and she knew their youngest enjoyed some time playing by herself in her cot. Instead, she sat, sipped her drink and listened to the happy gasps, nonsense words, and laughter that were being transmitted.

It was only as the giggles became even louder that curiosity got the better of her and she made her way down to the nursery. "Well, you're certainly having a good time aren't you?"

Lura knew they couldn't be seen by the bigger human but still ensured they were hidden away. Quite honestly they were glad of the chance to catch their breath. Fleur had loved the little dance they'd done for her but Lura had underestimated just how much energy would be involved.

"So, tell me what's so funny?" Imogen picked a still giggling Fleur up and held her high in the air. "Did you have a funny dream?"

"Ohhhhh. Ba-ba." Fleur waved her hands in Lura's direction, laughing some more as the elf waved back.

"Really?" Imogen opened her eyes wide before lowering the baby. "You'll have to tell Zara all about it. Oh, we'd better get a move on if we're going to collect her on time. Let's get you wrapped up warm. Maybe we can even stop off at the park on the way home, help that big sister of yours burn off some energy before lunch."

As Fleur left for her excursion, Lura waved goodbye before turning to their fellow Elves. "Well?"

"You did a very good job." Fifo was quick to reassure them. "She had a great time."

They cast their mind back almost half a century to a time when they had done a similar dance for another baby. A little girl who had stared at them with deep brown eyes, clearly analysing their every move even at such a young age. Eventually, Fifo's moves had broken her resolve and just like her own children later, she had giggled so much that her mother had been unable to resist seeing what the joke was.

 _"_ _Like Mama like daughters."_ , Fifo thought to themselves.

"Yes, well done. Though maybe you can ask Nicholas for some dance lessons when we get home?" Edra nudged Lura to show they were teasing.

"Ha.", Trian scoffed in defence of Lura. "You're no great mover yourself. Anyway, we're all well underway, except for you Fifo. What are your plans for Abby? Are you going to start with a prank or a treat?"

Fifo hadn't needed to think much about what their first duty would be. They knew there was something they could do for Abby that would require little effort on their part, but would make the teenager extremely happy.

"You'll see tomorrow night. Don't forget, they're going to leave the castle tomorrow and go to their house for a couple of days. For what I want to do for Abby we'll need to get there before them, so let's leave in plenty of time."

"Will Morgana, Minnie and Pixie be there?" Now that they had gotten over their fear, Lura was very taken with the animals.

"I would imagine so. Anyway, let's go and get some food while we can. I saw some biscuits in the cupboard downstairs, the one with all the pens and paper, nobody will notice if we help ourselves."

The following evening the Elves watched as two cars pulled up in the driveway. The first contained Constance, Imogen, their four children and another girl Lura didn't know.

"That's Lily, she's Abby's best friend.", Trian whispered. "Nicolas said we can include her too."

The second car contained Tom and Amelia along with a variety of pets.

"Yes! Boots and Iris came too." Edra cheered. "And Shep and Wendy. This is going to be great."

Before they could have fun with their friends, Fifo wanted to see if their work had paid off, so they magicked themselves upstairs to where Abby and Lily were unpacking.

"You should just tell them Abs, they'll understand. You said it yourself, your Mum is always misplacing things."

"Not special things though Lil, she never loses her jewellery. And you heard her, she specifically said the necklace would go perfectly with my new dress. Which it totally would. How am I meant to tell her and Mama that I lost it months ago?"

One of Abby's favourite presents had been a blue topaz necklace gifted to her from her family on her thirteenth birthday. It wasn't something she wore every day, rather for special occasions, the last time being on their family holiday to Portugal. It was only when they were home that she realised the necklace was missing. She had frantically gone through everywhere it could be on several occasions but eventually had come to accept that she must have left it behind.

And while she knew that Lily was right, her mothers wouldn't be angry with her, it didn't matter. It was more that she was desperately upset at herself for having lost something so special.

So far she had been able to cover up the loss. For Fleur's naming ceremony she had worn a high necked dress and for her own birthday and Fenny and Grissy's hen-night, she had worn different jewellery that the necklace would have clashed with. It was only when Imogen had mentioned wearing the necklace to the disco she and Lily were going to that Abby realised she would have to confess that it was gone.

"Come on, we'd better start getting ready.", Abby sighed. "Do you still want to borrow my purple bracelet?" At Lily's nod, she pointed to the jewellery box. "It's in there."

Lily opened the box but as she did so, lost her grip, causing her to drop the bracelet under the dressing table. "Whoops, sorry." She crouched down to retrieve it, noticing as she did there was something else, something shiny caught behind the table leg. "Err, Abs?"

"Yeah?"

"Look what I found under the dressing table."

It took a few seconds but as Abby realised what Lily was holding her jaw dropped. "No way. I must have looked under there at least a hundred times."

"I swear it was right there, I only found it because I dropped the bracelet."

Abby squeed with delight as she tied the delicate chain around her neck. "I can't believe it. Honestly, I thought it was gone forever and it was right there. I must have been blind."

Lily was thrilled to have helped her friend, even inadvertently "My Mum says that sometimes we can't see things for looking, that's probably what happened. How strange that it was just as we were talking about it though."

How it had happened didn't matter too much to Abby. She felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders and later, as she and Lily posed for her family before going out she beamed at Ava's compliment.

"That's my favourite necklace you have, it looks like your eyes."

"Aww, thanks Noodle."

"That's exactly why we chose it Poppet. Anyway, let's get these dancing divas dropped off." It was date night for Imogen and Constance which meant they could conveniently make sure the girls were deposited at the door before heading to the restaurant they had chosen.

Abby said goodbye to her sisters and grandparents and secretly resolved to be even more careful with her possessions in the future.

Meanwhile, Fifo was feeling very happy with themselves. They had known that Abby hadn't left her necklace in Portugal, that it had fallen out of her suitcase when she was unpacking and managed to get lodged in a crack in the skirting boards. It was unlikely she would ever have found it herself, at least not for a very long time so they had simply given her a helping hand.

"Good move having Lily drop the bracelet so she could 'accidentally' find the necklace." Trian patted their leader on the back. "A very well executed plan from start to finish. So, what's next?"

"Well.", Fifo grinned at the other Elves. "Now we are going to spend time with our animal friends. But don't worry, we're not finished our fun yet. Not in the slightest."


	3. Prank Wars

"Oh, for goodness sake." Imogen couldn't stop smiling as she saw the contents of the fridge.

"What? What?" Zara stood on her tip-toes before being lifted up by her still laughing Mummy to see what was so amusing. "Ha ha. Absy, Ava look, the eggs have funny eyes."

Imogen took said eggs, complete with stick-on googly eyes from the fridge. She then glanced over at her eldest girl who was sniggering along with her sisters at the funny faces.

 _"_ _The pranks aren't over yet.",_ she thought to herself.

Two days previously Ava and Zara, both a little under the weather with a cold, had discovered a collection of their cuddly toys lined up in the hallway as if they were queuing for the toilet. Imogen had watched with amusement as her miserable daughters immediately brightened up at the funny scene.

A certain big sister's presence during both events did seem perfectly timed, but if Abby's little tricks made breakfast and sick days more fun then this busy mother was all for it.

Little did she know that Abby had other ideas regarding the mysterious prankster. Over the years she had seen her Mum play plenty of funny tricks on Jamie, Stephen, even on her Mama and she loved her for it. She also loved when the victims got their own back, the most recent example being two days before when she had been witness to the hilarious sight of her Mum getting more than she had bargained for when opening a bottle of water. A multitude of tiny little pinholes through the plastic had ensured maximum soakage and Imogen vowing to get revenge as she stalked off to get changed.

"Stephen had better watch his back."

"Put it this way, he was here earlier and after thirty-something years of these type of antics, I'd be inclined to say she's right." Tom rolled his eyes when Abby had asked if the accusation had been fair. "That was one of his better ones though."

Yes, Abby enjoyed a good practical joke. In fact, she had been involved in an on and off prank war with Davina over the years. About a month previously she had taken inspiration from something Jamie had confessed doing to her Mum years before and added some blue food colouring to her friend's toothbrush. It had washed away but Davina freaking out over her blue teeth and lips had made Abby, her sisters and the staff and students of Cackle's laugh until their stomachs hurt.

So when Abby in turn was tricked, she had to admit she had it coming. It was the final week of school, a day after the egg incident and she had woken up to find not one single sock in her drawers. They had been there, she knew that because she remembered putting clean ones away the night before. But now, when she had approximately fifteen minutes to finish getting dressed, eat her breakfast and make the school bus, they had vanished.

"Mum! Please can I borrow some socks?" She flew into their living area to find her mothers and sisters in hysterics. "What?"

"I'd say you have plenty of socks of your own dear.", Constance quipped.

And she did, right there in front of her. Because decorating every branch of the small tree they kept at the castle was one of Abby's socks. Sports socks, novelty socks, bed socks and the badly needed school socks.

"Aghhhh." Abby snatched a pair from the middle of the tree and shoved them on her bare feet. "Davina! It's not fair, she has a magical advantage. Ugh, I'm going to get her so good, I swear."

"It could have been worse honey." Imogen wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes. "At least she went with socks, not bras and knickers."

Abby had to agree and as she flopped onto her bus seat she couldn't help laughing. "Well played Miss Bat. Well played."

"Well played indeed." The Elves had no qualms with anyone getting the blame, or credit as they saw it, for their great ideas.

Likewise, Davina had not the slightest issue with being seen as the current prank war leader, even if she couldn't remember actually playing the trick in question.

Fifo and company were very happy with how their stay was going, they were having plenty of fun in very comfortable surroundings, what wasn't to like? And it wasn't all tricks either, there were plenty of good deeds and nice surprises as well.

For example, for the part she had played in helping 'find' Abby's necklace, Lily had been rewarded by finding a packet of her favourite dolly mixture sweets when she unpacked her weekend bag at home. Abby denied putting them there but did have an idea where they may have come from.

"Remember, Ava asked you what sweets you liked? I bet she asked if she could get some for you. She does it to us all the time, leaves little gifts and notes to find."

"Awww." Lily smiled on the phone. "Is she there? I'd like to say thanks."

"You can't thank her, according to Granny it's part of the game. Apparently, she wants people to think a fairy left them."

Technically it had been an Elf but apart from Edra, who had whined for a good five minutes about the misrepresentation, nobody minded too much. And Ava wasn't without her own treat either.

"Mummy, look I got a new book. It was at the end of my bed when I got back from school."

Imogen glanced at the book her daughter was waving. It didn't look familiar but Ava had so many books it was hard to tell. At first she assumed it was not actually new, rather found. That was until she heard about the printed note.

 _"_ _Ava, you're a very good, kind girl who loves to read. Here's an idea, if there are books that you have finished with maybe you could share them with other boys and girls who don't have so many?"_

"Mummy, do you think other boys and girls would like my old books?"

Imogen crouched down in front of her daughter. "I think they would be very happy to get them. Would you be okay with sharing them?"

Ava nodded and with a bit of help from Mummy sorted her books into piles; one for keeping, one for books they thought Zara and Fleur would like, one that would go to the nearest hospital and one that would go to a charity shop. She did love her books but she still had a lot and she was very happy that the ones she didn't read anymore would go to new homes.

Zara wasn't forgotten about either, though in her case it was a surprise animal colouring book and pencil set that was found at the end of her bed after nursery.

"Mama, I got a letter too."

"Did you? Let's see what it says. _'Hi Zara, you've been a very good girl lately, cleaning your teeth, going to bed on time, sharing your things and being a brilliant sister. Well done and keep up the good work.'_ Isn't that nice?"

"Have I been good?" Zara had been trying very hard, she knew Christmas was coming and it was extra important that she did what her mothers said. She had been rewarded by lots of new stickers on her chart but wanted to be completely sure.

Constance kissed her daughter's forehead gently. "You've been a very good girl, especially when you help us look after Fleur. Now, I don't have any work to do at the moment and I'd love to do some colouring so I wonder if you'd share your pencils with me?"

"Yay, you can have some of these ones Mama." Zara was thrilled to have a companion and both spent a very enjoyable couple of hours colouring the various scenes in her new book.

"Good work Dad." Imogen grinned as she heard the tale and admired the handiwork. It hadn't been her, Constance or Abby who had left the surprises meaning that logically it had to be one of two people.

"Oh, I'd venture it was Tom alright." Amelia thought the gifts had been a lovely idea and was only sorry she hadn't come up with it herself. "But he'll only deny it. It's a bit like Ava and the fairy game, It wouldn't do to shatter the illusion."

Abby agreed, it was just the type of thing that her Granddad would do. In fact, she was willing to bet that Fleur's new Christmas rattle and the Starbucks vouchers that had appeared out of nowhere in her and her Mum's purses had come from him too. "He's the best. So are you of course Granny."

"Thank you dear." Amelia beamed at her granddaughter from the armchair before carrying on with her knitting.

it was the second last Saturday before Christmas and Imogen had gone out with Jamie as they always did at this time of year. Similarly, Tom was spending the evening with a group of old friends while Amelia stayed with their family. Fleur was fast asleep, as were Ava and Zara who wanted to make sure they kept their place on the "nice" list. This left Abby, Amelia and Constance, along with some cheese and crackers, a box of chocolates and "It's A Wonderful Life" on DVD. There was just one thing missing.

"Drat, I meant to pick up a bottle of wine." The thought had crossed Constance's mind at the supermarket but had slipped out again as she had noticed one of her children making a bee-line for a precariously balanced display of tinned goods. Zara was good, not perfect. She knew there was no wine in the house, with Imogen not drinking it didn't seem worth it most of the time and they had yet to do their big Christmas supermarket shopping.

Amelia, who would have loved a glass really, shrugged. "No harm, we'll make do with tea."

"I'll make it." Abby hopped up from where she was reclining on the sofa. "I'm going to make myself a hot chocolate, don't start the film without me."

"I don't think we could.", Amelia whispered

Constance agreed. "At least not without magic."

A minute later Abby was back with a green coloured bottle in one hand and two glasses in the other. "I thought you said there was no wine but I found this on the fridge with a ribbon on it. Maybe Mum left it for you?"

"Perhaps she did." Constance took the bottle and using her powers in a slightly trivial way, opened it before pouring a glass for both her and Amelia.

Almost three hours later the three of them had shed a tear at both the sad and the happy parts, a discreet tear in Constance's case. The wine was gone as was the cheese, the crackers and the majority of the chocolate. Amelia and Abby had gone up to bed and Constance was giving the room a quick tidy up before heading up herself.

She tended to the fire, fluffed the cushions, fixed the throw she and Abby had been snuggled under and gathered the rubbish to throw in the bin. Then, just before she turned out the light she left the four remaining chocolates in a convenient location.

Just in case any little visitors wanted them.


	4. Treats and Trips

"For the final time, it's okay."

Lura carried on with their pacing, an activity they had been heavily involved in since discovering the chocolates, including the entire journey back to the castle. "She knows, she left sweets out for us so she must know. Oh, we're going to be in so much trouble with Nicholas."

"But…"

"No, it's the rule, the grown-ups _can't_ know."

Eventually, Fifo placed themselves in Lura's path and gripped their shoulders. "Stop, sit down and please let me explain like I've been trying to for hours."

It took a moment but eventually Lura did what they had been asked and sat in the circle with their team. "Why aren't you bothered that she knows?"

"Because, my friend, this is not a normal grown-up. She's different, exceptionally clever and very, very, magical."

"So? We could lose our charges over this. Nicholas is going to be so angry."

"You're making too much of this." Edra sighed deeply. "Firstly, we're not going to lose our charges. Secondly, when have you ever seen Nicholas angry?" They waited for a beat to see if Lura could answer. "Exactly. Look, you're right, usually grown-ups shouldn't know about us but it's like Fifo said, she's special, this whole situation is special. Think about it, they're hopefully going to come to where we live one day, that says a lot doesn't it?" And if Constance knows we're here, she doesn't seem to mind."

Trian nodded. "Not judging by those sweets she left for us. Mmmmm, they were delicious."

At the mention of sweets, Lura felt their tummy rumble. They had been so worried that they had forgotten their own treat while the others indulged. "They looked nice."

"Don't worry, we didn't forget about you." Trian jumped up, returning later with the remaining chocolate. "Here you go."

"Are you sure we won't get into trouble?" Lura peered at Fifo for a final reassurance.

"I promise." The head Elf was relieved to see their friend tuck into what to them was a large meal.

"Can I ask something else?"

"Only if you share some of the chocolate with us." Trian's mouth was watering at the sweet smell and they knew it was the same for the others. Luckily for them, Lura was good at sharing.

"Why didn't she have an Elf of her own? When she was a little girl I mean."

"Constance?"

"Yes. She was a magical child, surely she should have had an Elf? Why didn't she?"

Fifo put down their piece of chocolate and sat next to Lura. "She did. I was her Elf for a short time."

As usual, Lura was full of questions. "You were? When? Why for a short time? What happened?"

A wave of sadness passed across the other three Elves. They knew from both Fifo and Nicholas what had happened and what made this such a special family.

Knowing it was hard for Fifo to talk about, Trian took over. "She wasn't allowed to believe anymore. Her mother had to leave and as well as keeping her grandparents from her, her father stopped her from believing in this type of magic. She was too young to really remember her first Christmas or her visit to Nicholas but even if she could, her life became so hard, that well…"

Edra took up the story. "She closed off, had no time for the non-traditional magic that we do. And for a long time, she lived in a lot of sadness."

"Until she met Imogen." Fifo didn't want to dwell too much on the sadness. "Then they had their girls and when it was the right time, Nicholas helped her discover what she had forgotten."

"And we got the best job in the whole Elf-world.", Edra bragged.

While they ate the last of their chocolate, Lura thought about what they had heard. It was a very sad story but from what they had seen, Constance didn't live in sadness anymore, she lived with a lot of joy. They had seen her get lots of kisses and cuddles from her wife and daughters and on several occasions they had overheard her family talk about how much they loved her. And Morgana in her own cat-like way had told them how she adored her mistress and the families they had found together.

Edra was right, they did have the best job in the Elf-world and they needed to get on with it.

"What's on the agenda today?"

"Ahhh." Fifo tipped their nose. "Today we have a surprise for everyone and we should be just in time to see it happening. Follow me."

As instructed the Elves followed Fifo down their secret passageway towards the staffroom where they had created a little viewing platform.

"And one for you."

Imogen took the letter from Elizabeth. Although still on leave, she and Fleur were regular fixtures in the staffroom during morning break. "Thank you." She opened the large envelope and read the note that came with it several times. "How bizarre."

"What?", Constance glanced up from her marking.

"It says here that I've won six tickets to the Christmas on Ice show on December 23rd. I have no idea how because I certainly don't remember entering anything." She held up the letter to show the others. "There's a number here, you watch Fleur while I give them a call and see if it's genuine."

Five minutes later she was back. "It's definitely real, apparently there was some promotion with one of the supermarket loyalty cards. I still don't know how they got this address, I always use the house, but that doesn't really matter I suppose. It is short notice though, the show is at 2 PM and train tickets to London are included as well. But would we be mad to go, it will be mental there that close to Christmas."

 _"No, you wouldn't be."_ , Trian whispered from their hiding place, hoping that Constance felt the same.

She did. "I think the girls will love it so much that we'd be mad _not_ to go. And you did say you'd like to bring them to see the lights. We can make a day of it. We'll be on holiday, our shopping will be done and we didn't have any other plans for that day."

"What about Fleur?" Imogen looked over to where their baby was happily playing with her activity centre. "I asked and they said she didn't actually need a ticket, but do you think she'll be alright for a whole day in London?"

"She'll be fine.", Lura squeaked, hoping that their charge would get to be included.

"She'll be fine." Constance echoed. "We'll wrap her, let her sleep in her pram and bring several changes of clothing. And we'll all have a marvellous time." She had a feeling those tickets hadn't come from a random competition and for that reason, she was sure everything had been deliberately set up for them to have a wonderful day.

"You're right." Imogen knew she was overthinking things. "Besides, I think Abby, Ava, and Zara would refuse to go without her. Oh, seeing as we have a spare ticket, what do you think about inviting Lily? I think she was due to stay with us that night anyway."

"Of course."

"Yay.", the Elves cheered. Everything had worked out exactly as planned, a theme that continued to the day itself.

"What are you looking at Darling?" It was just after 10 PM on December 23rd when Constance emerged from the bathroom and sat next to Imogen on the bed.

"The pictures and videos from today." Imogen held up her phone. "I'm so glad we kept it a surprise from Ava and Zara. Look."

She had watched this particular video several times and each time saw something different. This time it was the smiles of complete strangers who just happened to be walking past as Ava and Zara danced with joy having heard the reason why they were at the station.

"Everything just went so smoothly didn't it?"

And far from the hassle-filled day Imogen had still half been expecting, it had. The train was on time and the journey there filled with happy chatter from their very well behaved daughters. London had been busy but manageable. And the show, well, it had exceeded her own expectations but more importantly, the children, including the older ones, had loved it.

After the show, they had gone for a lovely meal then used the time left before their evening train home admiring the lights along Oxford Street. Zara had stuck closely to her parents and Ava hadn't complained once about the cold which had allowed everyone to enjoy the lights and the festive atmosphere. Then, after some teas and hot chocolates at the station, they had made their way home.

The journey back was equally as straightforward, with Ava, Zara and Fleur all falling asleep as soon as they got on the train. Luckily their late nap and excitement for Christmas Eve the following day didn't impact their sleeping patterns too much and after a snack, a bath and story time they were all down for the night.

"Thank you for a lovely day.", Ava was still smiling at the memories as she dropped off.

"We had loads of fun.", Zara had told her parents sleepily. "Night night." With that she had snuggled up to her sister, closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Abby and Lily had also turned in, and if you listened very carefully could be heard whispering and giggling as they watched ELF in bed.

"So inaccurate.", Edra muttered before being hushed by the other Elves who were looking at the grown-ups.

Constance watched as Imogen scrolled through the various pictures again. "It really was a marvellous day. Very festive."

"Speaking of festive, you certainly seem to be in the Christmas spirit. Not that you haven't been before but you seem extra jolly this year."

"Do I?" Constance raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Yes, and I am certainly not complaining. I'm really glad you encouraged me to use those tickets, I wouldn't have missed today for anything. And if you're not too tired I'd like to give you an early gift to say thank you."

"I'm not tired.", Constance smirked. "And you know I'm always happy to share gifts with you."

"Well, in that case…." Imogen moved a few inches across the bed.

"Time to leave." Fifo pushed their friends away from their hiding place. "This is definitely one of those moments that is not for Elf viewing."

"Definitely not.", Edra agreed. "Let's go find the cats, it's our last night, we should definitely have some fun."

The Elves were a little sad that their time with the Drills was coming to an end, but Christmas Eve was their time to say goodbye.

After they did their last pieces of work of course.


	5. Time To Go Home

"Kiss please." Ava stood in the hallway, a sprig of mistletoe held over her head.

"Mwah." Tom was happy to oblige his granddaughter's request on his way back to the kitchen. "Are you doing some last minute decorating?"

"Yeah.", Zara sighed, having been roped into dotting the leftover mistletoe around the house to ensure maximum kissing potential. Really, she would have rather been in the kitchen where, judging by the smell, there was lots of nice food that she could be sampling. Instead, she had been told she'd have to wait and find another way to entertain herself while her mothers and grandparents were busy cooking.

"Come on, let's put this last piece upstairs.", Ava whispered when Tom was gone. "We could put it over Fleur's cot so everyone has to kiss her."

As the two little girls went upstairs, Trian and Lura looked at each other in concern. "Quick."

"It's gone." Ava checked her bag again before glancing down the stairs. "Abby.", she ran to her older sister who was coming out of her bedroom. "The mistletoe we wanted to put over Fleur's cot just disappeared."

"Maybe that's not a bad thing.", Abby explained as she lifted Fleur from her bed and placed her on the floor. "You know how Fleur is trying to stand up, and how she likes to put things in her mouth? Well, if she was to eat the mistletoe she'd probably get very sick."

Ava's big eyes filled with tears. "I'd never want to make Fleur sick."

"Me neither,", Zara added. "'Specially not for Christmas."

"I know that. And so does Fleur, don't you?"

Well able to recognise her name, Fleur looked up, first at Abby, then at Ava and Zara who were now on her mat, still looking sad. "Oh-oh.", she pouted before lunging at her sisters to give them hugs and sloppy kisses that soon had them smiling again.

"Anyway, you know now and nothing happened, so don't worry." Abby plonked herself down on the mat to join in the snuggles. "So, seeing as we're banned from the kitchen, how about we do some drawing?"

"Can we make a picture for Santa?", Zara asked.

"Of course." Abby didn't share that her Mama had suggested the very same activity.

"Good." Zara thought for a moment. "Absy, how does he get here?"

Her big sister took a deep breath and mentally prepared herself for an afternoon of Zara's questions, most of which she knew she wouldn't be able to answer to a satisfactory level. She knew about Nicholas of course, had met him that one time with her sisters. But as much as she was curious, like many magical things she had come to accept that there wasn't always a straight answer to her, or her sisters', many questions.

"I think we did a good thing there.", Lura stated as they pushed the piece of mistletoe out of the window.

Trian nodded. "We definitely did. Ohh, I wonder what type of pictures they'll make for Nicholas this year. He keeps them all you know. "

While the Drill girls didn't know this, they did spend a lot of time making sure their pictures were perfect. They kept drawing right up until Imogen called them for dinner, a Chinese takeaway that Stephen and Gaby had brought with them as was their Christmas tradition.

It was a loud, informal dinner and following an afternoon of cooking and cleaning, Imogen and Constance were enjoying being able to sit back and relax a little. It was worth the effort to have the preparations done, especially when they were going to have a full house the following day with Davina, Elizabeth and Abby's father David joining them.

With dinner over it was time for a quick bath for Fleur, Ava, and Zara before dressing in their new pyjamas and settling down with hot drinks to watch 'The Snowman' before bed. Sleeping, however, that was another thing.

"Remember our plan.", Zara whispered while Abby put the film on.

Ava yawned before nodding. At the time it had seemed like a great idea but now that Christmas Eve had come, she wasn't sure she would be able to stay up to see Father Christmas. However, she did perk up a little when she heard about the extra special sleepover they were going to be having that night.

"Fleur's gonna sleep with us?"

Abby grinned. "Yep, she'll be in her cot in my room, Mama already moved it. And I've promised we won't make too much noise, but she'll be part of our Christmas Eve sleepover. Cool yeah?"

"Yeah."

Ava and Zara were thrilled, as was Abby who once the baby received her final feed, helped their parents get her settled.

"I'll bring her back.", she teased her slightly nervous looking Mum.

Imogen knew she was being a bit silly. Fleur had been in her own room for a couple of months now and was fine. She just didn't want to miss out on their last 'First Christmas.' "I know you will honey, and this was a really good idea. Just don't forget about us in the morning."

"Relax Mum, invading your bed is a tradition on Christmas morning. For all of us."

Pleased that being fifteen wasn't going to stop Abby from participating in a Christmas morning cuddle, Imogen and Constance went downstairs with Abby to help Ava and Zara with other last minute Christmas traditions.

"Hope you like your food reindeers. Will they see it on the grass 'cos I can't see it anymore?"

"They will Zee." Stephen, who had provided the package for his nieces to scatter, promised with a wink for Imogen. "I've met some reindeer and they can see things we can't. Come on, we'd better go in, don't want you catching a cold, do we? What's next."

"Milk, a mince pie, biscuits, some sweeties and our drawings." Ava double checked what they were leaving out for Father Christmas. "Anything else?"

Constance shook her head. "That's everything little one, I'm sure they'll be very grateful. Father Christmas and his reindeer that is."

Neither girl noticed her slip of the tongue, both were too full of excitement and tiredness to pay much attention. The Elves didn't miss it though and they had to say, it made them feel very good to be included.

"Why should the reindeer get everything anyway?", Edra mumbled. "Those candy canes are ours. You're my witness, I'm claiming them right now."

"How do you manage to create a fight when they're not even here?" Trian knew they should be used to Edra's personality by now.

"Talent I guess."

It was time for Fifo to step in. "Well, perhaps your talents could be put to better use? Come on, we don't have much time."

They magicked themselves upstairs where they watched Ava and Zara being tucked up in bed before their Mama told them a story of magical creatures who helped make Christmas special. Despite her best efforts, Zara was the one to fall asleep first with Ava not far behind her.

"Honey…." Imogen's words drifted away as she looked at the third occupant of the bed. She may have been way past the age for a bedtime story but her Mama's gentle voice mixed with the comfort of her cosy bed had sent Abby off to dreamland with a smile on her face. "Goodnight love bugs.". Imogen gave each girl a kiss before whispering to Constance, "Will you do the stockings later?"

"Don't I always Darling?"

With the adults gone it was almost time for the Elves to say their goodbyes. Nicholas was on his way and they needed to get back home.

"Don't cry." Fifo could feel their own lip wobble as they addressed their team. "We'll be back next year."

"I know, it's just hard." Trian tried to plaster on a brave face. They had already said sad farewells to their animal friends, promising faithfully that they would return. They had also gathered their bits and pieces ready for the journey home, there were just some last minute things to do before they could be gone.

"Be safe. Look after each other and know you are very loved." Fifo whispered to the sleeping girls curled up together in the bed.

"And as for you." Lura peered into the cot. "Oh, she's awake."

"That's okay." Trian smiled. "She won't say anything."

"As for you, I still think you're as cute as a button and I am very happy that I"m going to be your friend for a long time. Goodbye little Fleur, see you next year."

The Elves vanished at the exact moment Constance appeared with four filled stockings in her arms. She was pleased to see that Ava and Zara were still fast asleep and although her eldest knew where the stockings came from, she was relieved that Abby too would wake up to a surprise.

But there was one Drill girl who was awake and smiling up at her.

"Shhhh little one, this is our secret, isn't it? But you know, somehow I have a feeling that you've been keeping a lot of secrets over the past few weeks, but that's alright, you enjoy them. And if you don't remember everything as you get older, I promise that I'll keep telling you stories to keep the memories alive. Then, when it's the right time, perhaps you'll be lucky enough to take a special trip one day."

She noticed that although Fleur was still smiling softly, her eyes were drooping shut.

"Goodnight my little flower, Mummy and I can't wait to spend this first Christmas with you." With one last kiss, Constance was gone, ready to get some much-needed sleep before another busy day.

While Imogen may have been asleep when her wife came to bed, she was awake bright and early. Awake and feeling rather impatient.

"Where are they?" It was almost 6:30 and although the logical part of her knew it was good that the children hadn't been up and raring to go at 4 AM, she was ready for a Christmas family cuddle.

"Ughhh.", she sighed before swinging her legs out of bed and padding to the toilet. She was also dying for a coffee but didn't want to miss the arrival of their girls. Luckily for her, she had an alternative to getting up and making the drink herself.

"You are an angel.", she beamed as she came back to find a steaming cup on her bedside table.

"Hmm, I'm not too sure about that." Constance laughed. "But thank you for the compliment." She waited while Imogen sat on the edge of the bed and took a long sip of her hot drink before leaning over and kissing her shoulder. "Merry Christmas Darling."

"Merry Christmas Sweetheart.`" Imogen turned so she could get back into bed and hold her love properly. "You know, I was feeling a bit put out that the girls weren't here yet, but I have to say this is very nice too."

They stayed cuddled together for a few minutes, exchanging soft kisses and remembering past Christmases.

"If I'm not mistaken….." Constance's words were lost as the sound of rapid footsteps came across the hall.

"Merry Christmas!" Ava and Zara charged in, waving their stockings and followed by Abby who was carrying Fleur. There was so much excitement as they climbed on to the bed to exchange hugs and kisses that nobody noticed a tiny flash coming from the corner. A flash that represented the final gift from their visitors.

Of course, there were plenty of other treats that day, delicious food, games and plenty of gifts. And as tradition dictated, the final gift of the day went to Constance that evening

"This is going to sound really strange but when I went to print the group picture from this morning there was another one.", Imogen told her family as they watched a delighted Constance flick through her memory book.

"A picture?" Abby was curious.

"Yes. This one.", she pointed to the last picture in the book. "It's such a good one that I had to put it in." The completely candid picture captured the moment the girls jumped on their bed that morning. "Maybe the camera went off?

"Maybe." Constance couldn't quite manage to hide her smile.

Ava had another theory. "Maybe it was magic?"

"Maybe." Her Mama thought of the letter she had received that morning, a note left from a special friend. While he hadn't answered the numerous questions she had asked in her last communication to her satisfaction, Nicholas shared what he could. He also ensured Constance knew that any magical visitors that he may or may not know about, were without question, friends.

"How does a magic camera work Mama? Did you make it magic? And did….." Zara's many questions were lost as her Mama used a tried and trusted tactic to distract her. Tickles

"Do you give up?" Constance laughed as Zara squirmed and giggled, much to everyone else's amusement.

"I give up, I give up." Zara gasped before collapsing on the bed with a big smile on her face.

"Do you think Father Christmas liked what we left him last night?", Ava pondered. She had loved all her gifts and was pleased to see that everyone seemed to feel the same about the presents she and her sisters had given. She just hoped that the pictures had been equally well received.

"I know he did little one."

Constance was speaking the truth, Nicholas had been delighted with the pictures. And he wasn't the only one.

"Abby's such a great artist." Fifo knew they were boasting but didn't care.

"Ava picked such lovely colours.", Trian added. "Look, a pink reindeer."

"Zara did that tree there, look she even put socks on it. Ha, that was such a great trick we played, wasn't it? "

"And Fleur put that little squiggle right there." Lura pointed to the green line. "Do you think she did that for me?"

Nicholas smiled kindly at the junior Elf. "I'm sure she did." He glanced at the others. "So, I reminded you at the beginning, this was an important assignment."

"Yes, boss."

"And I expected you to help each other."

"Yes, boss."

"And not to make things too difficult for them."

"How did we do boss?" Fifo hoped they knew the answer.

"You did incredibly well. I'm very proud of you. All of you." He gave Lura a wink.

"So next year? Same time same place?"

"Yes, my friends. Same time. Same place and most certainly, same family."

 **A/N: And there we go, hope you enjoyed. The Drills will be back soon for Fenny and Grissy's wedding.**

 **Thank you to those who left reviews or messages on Tumblr and to all who celebrate, Merry Christmas.**


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